Saudi crown prince visit to Pakistan postponed

November 12, 2022

By Mashal Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman has postponed his visit to Islamabad.

"The visit is being rescheduled. The new dates will be mutually finalized by the two sides," said the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra.

However, the spokesperson didn't share more details regarding the reasons for the visit's postponement.

Earlier some government officials claimed that the Saudi leader is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Nov. 21 and will announce billion dollars investment in Pakistan.

However, the Saudi Foreign Ministry remained silent on their announcement and they didn't confirm that MBS has any plan to visit Pakistan.

Analysts believe, the government officials announced the visit without confirmation from Riyadh to use it against their opponent and former prime minister Imran Khan's long march toward Islamabad as his march is expected to reach Islamabad after Nov. 20.

"8 years ago, when the Chinese president was to visit Pakistan, Imran Khan postponed the visit by staging a sit-in, which harmed the interests of Pakistan. Today, the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister is visiting Pakistan. . This can be done by any enemy of Pakistan," Defense Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted on Friday.

His tweet shows that they will blame Khan for any postponement of MBS visit and would claim that he cancel his visit because of Khan's protest march.